Subject Overview

A key aim of History teaching at Saltergate Junior School is to stimulate the children’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past. Through our eight strands of knowledge, three in KS1 and five in KS2, we want children to leave with an in depth understanding of the past in which children, each year, can build on the knowledge they have gained from previous years and compare across time periods. This is all completed through a chronological curriculum that begins over 10,000 years ago in the dark wilderness of the Stone Age to the relative modernity of 80 years ago and World War Two. All topic books have a world timeline at the front of them to refer to regularly and support the children’s broad understanding of world history. 

EYFS

As part of the ‘Understanding the world’ EYFS have themes that they cover. These include transport past and present as well as new and old clothing. The children can begin to answer simple questions using photographs, notice similarities and differences between themselves and others and understand that things change over time.

KS1

In KS1 children look at the substantive knowledge threads of change, significance and achievements. For their changes thread they look at changes within living memory, the Olympics, George Stephenson and compare Grace Darling to Rosa Parks. For significance the children study the Great Fire of London using Samuel Pepys diary and study Martin Luther King. For our achievements thread they study Neil Armstrong and the Space Race. All of this includes disciplinary knowledge is developed throughout including chronological knowledge, historical enquiry and interpretations of history.

KS2

Children build on these KS1 threads of knowledge with five new ones. These substantive knowledge threads are childhood, culture, religion, transport and government and military. The chronological curriculum includes studies of the Greeks, Romans and Vikings.  Alongside this there is also a focus on local history with our water topic in Year 5. As in KS1 there is a focus on disciplinary knowledge that builds on KS1 skills.